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The Cab Calloway TV Show in 1959 from the Rancho Don Carlos in Winnipeg, Canada

This show is one of a kind testimony of the way Cab Calloway sang and toured in the late fifties, when times were harder than during the Swing era. And, on a personal matter, this is a TV show I’ve been privileged to watch at Cab Calloway’s house in Westchester along with Cab’s daughter, Cecelia. I thought I’d never see it again, but here it is, after a dedicated fan posted it on YouTube. Read the full story →

Cotton Club Revue Season #2: 1958, from Miami to...

The second year, expected to fulfill the hopes of the first season, didn’t happen the way it was supposed to. With many changes in the leading parts, certainly lacking pizzazz, with a downgraded show, the 1958 Cotton Club Revue had also had to face bad luck. Even the GONE Album recorded to support the show was released right after the closing of the engagement in Miami… But it takes much more to dishearten Cab Calloway! Read the full story →

GONE album “Cotton Club Revue of 1958”

Released in March 1958 to support the Cotton Club Revue, which was then touring in Miami and the USA (see our forthcoming article), this LP is Cab Calloway’s very first album – in the modern sense. Despite genuine qualities, this record went straight into the dustbin of discographers and jazz critics. It seems nevertheless to warrant some interest since, besides its two releases at the time, an unofficial vinyl emerged 30 years ago and an official release even popped up on CD in August 2014. Read the full story →

Lammar WRIGHT as told by Wilmer WISE, his bandstand friend

Lammar WRIGHT (1905-1973) was an incredibly talented trumpeter who played in Cab’s orchestra between 1930 and 1944. He was one of the Missourians when Cab grabbed the band. Wilmer WISE (born in 1936) is another incredibly talented trumpeter, who has been playing in many fields, from big bands, Broadway pits, philharmonic orchestras, to rock and soul studio groups. We were honored to meet and interview him in October 2011 about his bandstand friend, Lammar Wright with whom he worked between 1956 and 1967. Read the full story →

Cotton Club Revue Season #1: 1957, from Miami to New York and Las Vegas

In the Fifties, Miami became the place to be: hotels and resorts, nightclubs, beaches, the city was magic. Before retirees, tourists were the main source of income. It made sense for entrepreneurs to try their luck with an ambitious revue. Glamour, chorus girls, tap dance and entertainment were on the menu. And if you add Cab Calloway as the main course, you’re headed for success. So they say. And so it happened... well, at the beginning.     Read the full story →

Dotty SAULTERS: the petite singer larger than life (part 1)

She was the canary in Cab Calloway’s orchestra between 1943 and 1947 and her rather garish voice is heard on many live recordings… Nevertheless, she is actually a complete stranger in the eyes (especially the ears) of jazz connoisseurs.  Do not rely on reference books either: they do not even know she exists.  Yet Dotty SAULTERS was a helluva little woman, a singer and exceptional entertainer, not to mention a great tap dancer.  She was married to Honi Coles, the great tap dancer, and her life was always pulsed by the rhythm.  And what rhythm!  What a woman!  The Hi De Ho Blog reveals everything we know about Dotty Saulters. Here's the first of 3 part biography about Dotty: the first one is her life BEFORE working with Cab Calloway...   Read the full story →